The Unkindest Tide
The Unkindest Tide '(2019) is the thirteenth book in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. This follows October Daye, whom after having placed herself in the debt of the Luidaeg for most of her journey, has to pay them, by helping her ensure that the Selkies who have worn the skins of her children, the Roane, will pay their debts. Author's Description '''Now in hardcover, the thirteenth novel of the Hugo-nominated, ''New York Times-bestselling Toby Daye urban fantasy series! Hundreds of years ago, the Selkies made a deal with the sea witch: they would have the sea for as long as she allowed it, and when the time came, she would call in all their debts at once. Many people assumed that day would never come. Those people were wrong. When the Luidaeg–October “Toby” Daye’s oldest and most dangerous ally–tells her the time has come for the Selkies to fulfill their side of the bargain, and that Toby must be a part of the process, Toby can’t refuse. Literally. The Selkies aren’t the only ones in debt to the Luidaeg, and Toby has to pay what she owes like anyone else. They will travel to the fabled Duchy of Ships and call a convocation of the Selkies, telling them to come and meet the Luidaeg’s price…or face the consequences. Of course, nothing is that simple. When Dianda Lorden’s brother appears to arrest Dianda for treason against the Undersea, when a Selkie woman is stripped of her skin and then murdered, when everything is falling apart, that’s when Toby will have to answer the real question of the hour. Is she going to sink? Or is she going to swim? Full Plot Summary March 8th, 2014 After three days of tracking a case, Toby manages to crack it and get paid, rewarding herself with burritos for the family. She muses over the positive changes that have occurred in her life to bring her a home and a family in the first place, and about the intricacies of being a changeling. Arriving home, May Daye informs Toby that Dean Lorden and Raj are visiting Quentin Sollys, and she's baking cookies. Jazz greets Toby while clipping coupons, and Tybalt embraces his fiancé while the teens storm the kitchen for burritos. Tybalt insists upon providing for the household when needed, and Toby reinforces her preference for paying mortals fairly for their goods and services. Tybalt reveals that he has a bank account with real money in it, and he will use it to buy groceries. He makes a lewd joke, which causes Jazz to crack up laughing, and for a moment, things seem like they're going to be okay. A heavy petting session later that night is interrupted by a visitor on the doorstep; the Luidaeg. Toby and Tybalt invite her in for leftover burritos, and she asks Toby to fetch all three of the boys. A silencing spell on Quentin's door forces Toby to call his phone, revealing that Chelsea Ames had also come to visit and play videogames. Toby tells Quentin to send her away, and bring Raj and Dean downstairs to meet the Luidaeg. She tells them all about the slaughter of the Roane and the subsequent creation of the Selkies, and that she needs Toby's blood magic to be able to settle the Selkies' final bill; to bind the Selkies to their skins to create new Roane. The Luidaeg tells Dean to relay the information to his mother, Dianda Lorden, while she plans to inform Arden Windermere herself, as it will be a Ride of sorts, taking place in her royal protectorate. The event is set to take place on "Moving Day", aka May 1st, in the Duchy of Ships. When asked, May declines to join in on the event, citing that she doesn't like being in open waters. Three days before the end of April, Toby lies awake in bed with Tybalt, who tells her a little about what it was like when Firstborn still walked freely amongst their children. Toby admits that she's nervous about her impending visit to tell Gillian Marks about the coming event and its consequence for her humanity. After dressing, Tybalt takes the two of them through the Shadow Roads to Cliff's house. Miranda answers the door, and is reluctant to fetch Gillian, but Gilly comes down of her own accord and shows off her newly-acquired human illusion by breaking it, accompanied by the scent of flowering fennel and primroses. Toby notes that this is not the scent she would have had as a Dochas Sidhe, but close. At Gillian's request, Tybalt and Toby release their illusions as well, and the four of them head into the kitchen, where they won't be spotted by any passersby. Toby starts to explain the Selkie history to Gilly, who has already heard most of it from Elizabeth Ryan and the Luidaeg. Janet starts to realize what is happening, and tries to step in, but Gillian declares her autonomy, gets the information from Toby, and says that she'll be there. Toby and Tybalt return home through the Shadows. The next day, Stacy Brown drops Toby and company off at the docks in order to depart for the journey, providing a ride while Danny MacReady picks up Gillian. Tybalt and Quentin are joined by Dean and Marcia, then soon after by the Luidaeg and Poppy. Next Nolan Windermere portals in, acting as Arden's diplomatic emissary, along with Arden's Seneschal, Cassandra Brown, who is meant to keep him from traveling alone. Nolan reveals that he had once been to the Duchy of Ships before, in the company of the Windermere nursemaid, Marianne, whom he hopes to track down for a reunion. Finally, Gillian arrives at the docks as well, while Danny stays in his cab. Just then, the fog parts and a large antique ship appears, decorated by a carved Cephali and flying a flag bearing three feathers. The Luidaeg issues a warning to the group that if anyone besides Toby or Gillian bothers her, she'll throw them overboard. Marcia offers her knowledge to Gillian, knowing the younger woman will have lots of questions. As the ship pulls in to the pier, a Satyr named Rodrick greets the group and welcomes them aboard the ship called The Jackdaw by the authority of Captain Pete. By property of being a ship of the Duchy of Ships, The Jackdaw is a floating, traveling Knowe. The transition into the Summerlands hits Toby harder than usual, but for some reason, does not seem to affect Marcia at all. The same is true of seasickness, which Marcia attempts to help Toby overcome with idle chatter. Soon enough they come into view of the Duchy of Ships, which seems to be built out of and on top of a conglomerate of ships, true enough to its name. A single lighthouse denotes the small island which started the mass. The Luidaeg clarifies that they are technically in Leucothea, Dianda's waters, but that Queen Palatyne has ceded rulership there, meaning that the people of the Duchy of Ships are self-ruling. As the ship is pulled into harbor by something with giant red tentacles, the Luidaeg mourns privately with Toby for her "Cousin Annie" façade that will be no more, and Toby tries her best to be of comfort. The Luidaeg explains that rather than each individual ship having a captain, they all have a First Mate, who reports to the Captain of the Duchy itself. Rodrick announces his "cargo" passengers one by one as they depart the ship, with a couple mishaps along the way as first Gillian, then Toby slip on the gangplank and land on their butts. As Poppy departs from the ship, she is met mid-air by another Aes Sidhe, whom the Luidaeg says has been hidden here. Rodrick hesitates to announce the Luidaeg until she proves herself to be the sea witch. Captain Pete, revealed to be a shark-scaled woman of unknown species, meets the Luidaeg in an embrace after a formal greeting on the docks. The Luidaeg introduces Captain Pete by her better-known name, Amphitrite, Firstborn mother of the Merrow. Dean faints. While Dean recovers in Pete's room, Pete regards Quentin and October and discusses the policy of the Firstborn not to have children after the Three Creators of Faerie disappeared. The Luidaeg reminds Pete that Amandine was not the only one to have broken this policy, and implies that Dawn Winterrose may have been Evening Winterrose's daughter, not her sister. Pete and the Luidaeg discuss a bit of their history, and why they don't hate each other like they ought to, coming from opposite ends of the Divided Courts. Pete asks the Luidaeg why she should let the binding of the Selkies happen, since they are protected in her waters. Toby interjects and reminds Pete that none of them are going to die, just disappoint any descendants who were waiting for a sealskin. Pete bids that no Fae blood be shed in her waters, and that the Luidaeg supply the mortal families there with more faerie ointment before she agrees to the process. Marcia enters with a tincture which wakes up Dean and keeps him from fainting again while beholding his First. Pete bids the party to cause no trouble while in her domain. Chatting with Toby, the Luidaeg admits that she's worried about finding bodies floating in the water from Selkies fighting over skins. She reminds Toby that Oberon's Law barely applies to Selkies, since they are by most standards Human when not wearing their skins. Their conversation invokes the Night-haunts in passing, and Toby silently muses that her research in the Library of the Stars seems to imply that there is no true link between Fetches and impending death, only enough correlation to create a Faerie-wide superstition. Marcia approaches to joke about Dean sleeping in Quentin's room, which complicates things only a little bit. Then, suddenly, the Convocation begins, according to the Luidaeg, who changes Toby's clothing into something more appropriate. They pass through the Duchy, past Cephali, Sirens, and Asrai, as well as several as-yet-unknown species. Toby notes the lack of Pixies, who apparently are too vulnerable to predation on the ocean. Tybalt catches up with the two of them, against the Luidaeg's wishes, and brings Toby her leather jacket. The three of them descend through the Duchy to a sand-filled cove full of Selkies, where they are greeted by Diva Ryan, who is not yet aware of the Luidaeg's true identity. The Luidaeg warns Diva away, and tells her to fetch her mother for the Convocation of Consequences. The group is met by Mathias Lefebvre, who beseeches the Luidaeg to present his clan with Lost Skins, like she had done for the Ryan clan. She tells him to leave. All the other gathered Selkies and their kin retreat as well, save for one small child who questions the Luidaeg's motives. She dismisses the child kindly, making Toby muse about the Luidaeg's role as a mother. Soon enough the trio is approached again by Mathias, as well as Elizabeth Ryan, and three other representatives of the Selkies; Isla Chase of Belle Fleuve, Joan O'Connell of Tremont, and Claude Anthony of Sweet Water. The Luidaeg confirms that they represent the five dominant clans of North America, and that the Selkies of the world have been called. She asks whether any of the other clan leaders feel she'd been unfair in paying the Ryan clan for their service with the return of the Lost Skins. Joan and Isla express their malcontent with the situation. The Luidaeg makes it clear that the Convocation will apply to any and all of those holding a skin, and for all intents and purposes, condones any theft done in the name of obtaining one, so long as no children or human kin are brought into harm's way. Then she leaves. Liz impresses upon Toby that as a new Selkie, Gillian will be a target, and is in grave danger. October makes an Oath that she will rain fire down upon any clan which harms Gillian. Then she and Tybalt follow behind the Luidaeg. She asks why Toby is upset with her, and explains her reasoning behind placing no sort of protection on Gillian; she wants the Roane to all stand on equal footing with each other, and not feel as though she's playing favorites with one, for fear of causing Gillian to live indefinitely in social isolation from her peers. Upon returning to their quarters, the party is joined by Dianda Lorden, who greets her son Dean by play-fighting with him, and Patrick Lorden, who is having an awestruck reunion with Poppy, who had come from an old favorite Pixie colony which Patrick had tended alongside Simon Torquill. Before long, the courtyard is invaded by a dispatch of armored guards, led by Torin of the Duchy of Bluefish, Dianda's younger brother. He accuses Dianda of treason, among other things, and places her under arrest, leading her away in chains. Patrick explains that by now, Peter Lorden and his maid Helmi are probably already dead, with the rest of Saltmist having switched sides to the probable invasion of Torin's forces. Upon hearing this, Toby petitions the Luidaeg for help. The Luidaeg charges her one irrefutable future task, one day's worth of collecting her blood, and the return of Simon Torquill. Toby agrees, and the Luidaeg uses some of Tybalt's blood to mix a tincture which will transform Toby and Quentin into Merrow for 12 hours. After getting directions from Patrick, they take the plunge into the ocean and quickly swim their way to Saltmist, finding the Duchy to be deserted until they approach the palace, where the Cephali guards are camouflaged. Entering the palace through a servant's corridor, Toby is assaulted by another Cephali who, after a brief questioning, leads the way to Peter. The three of them take cover as three of Torin's guards approach, talking loudly about the Selkies and Roane in a demeaning manner. Toby attacks and neutralizes them, hiding them in a nearby storage closet. Using her blood magic tracking to follow the scent of Peter's heritage, Toby finds him and Helmi hidden in another store room. She offers the hospitality of the Duchy of Ships to Helmi, the other Cephali (named Kirsi), and any others who would rather hide than swear loyalty to Torin. Their escape from the palace is halted by a third Cephali, whom Toby challenges to fight as a distraction while Helmi and Kirsi sneak by along the ceiling with Peter and Quentin in their arms. Peter reminds Toby that they're at war, and Toby kills the challenger before they continue their escape, accompanied by the Cephali guard from the outside of the palace. Toby ushers everyone back onto the Duchy of Ships, but before she can follow them up, she spies the drowned body of Isla Chase floating nearby, and the group hauls it up in a net. Toby recovers from drowning after an attempt to ride Isla's blood for clues, and concludes that the drowning must have been so traumatic as to block out all other memories. She asks the three Cephali to carry the body to their quarters, led by Poppy, while Toby, Tybalt, and Quentin follow the Luidaeg's trail through the Duchy of Ships, noting the eerie lack of Selkies as they go. They wind up in the Selkie cove and go to visit Elizabeth, who reluctantly lets them in. They question her about the self-policing policies of Selkies, and inform her of Isla's death. She advises them to go to Mathias, who is holed up in his temporary house with his husband, Rene O'Dell (second cousin to Connor O'Dell). Toby announces Isla's death to Mathias and Rene, who happens to have been her brother. He agrees to accompany her through the Duchy on her quest to find Isla's killer and retrieve her skin. Following the trail of Isla's magic, they find the site of her struggle, and her discarded skin in the water nearby. Toby jumps in after it, still protected by the Merrow tincture, and swims around the Duchy to find a way back up from the water, just as the tincture wears off. The sealskin tries to tempt Toby into putting it on, but she resists its call until she's able to return it to Rene, who confirms that the skins used to speak to their wearers, before they were worn down. Tybalt leads the way back through the Duchy to their quarters, where Patrick and Peter are arguing about next steps to save Dianda. Rene and Toby discuss where to keep Isla's sealskin, as it would find a new wearer if left to its own devices. Marcia reveals that previous experience in the service of Lily has taught her how to store a skin safely in a willow basket filled with oil. Quentin and Cassandra venture out to find a suitable basket while Marcia gathers the herbs needed from the courtyard's gardens. Toby and Tybalt embark for Roderick's quarters in order to ask whether there had been any more deaths. En route, just as Toby is beginning to understand the motives behind the current situation, she is assaulted by Torin. Tybalt leaps to her defense, Toby tries to run, and is stabbed with a hooked fishing knife. Tybalt escapes into the Shadow Roads with her in his arms, and lands in the local Court of Cats in order to remove the knife, which removes a piece of Toby's spine in the process. Tybalt gives her blood, straight from his wrist, in order to aid her in the healing process, and almost blacks out from the loss of blood. They briefly discuss the possibility of having children together as they regain their footing, and then puzzle out the timing of Torin's attack- he seems to be distracting Toby from her purpose in resurrecting the Roane. They return to the courtyard where they'd left everyone else, only to find them defending it from Torin's guards. Cassandra begs Toby to get the fighting to stop, explaining her panicked concern by revealing that she is an aeromancer, a type of soothsayer who can read the future in the movement of air. Torin appears with Gillian in custody, threatening her in order to get Toby to turn over the Lordin boys. Toby correctly guesses that Torin and Isla had been lovers, and that her death had been accidental. Tybalt attacks Torin from the Shadows, and Captain Pete arrives on the scene to stab the Cephali who had been holding Gillian. Gillian embraces Toby briefly, then asks her to keep away, and runs off into the Duchy. Toby sends Quentin after her. Rene breaks down in the Luidaeg's arms about not being allowed to avenge Isla's death by attacking Torin while he's unconscious from Tybalt's attack. Captain Pete questions Marcia's existence while Toby ties up Torin before he regains consciousness. The visitors and denizens of the Duchy assemble in the central lighthouse, where Amphitrite makes a grand entrance onto her throne and puts Torin on trial. He claims that the Luidaeg's intent to resurrect the Roane means that she was moving against Amphitrite; both sisters disagree and manage to guess that Eira Rosynhwyr is who told him so. Amphitrite disowns Torin, frees Dianda and summons her in a column of water to reunite with Patrick. She also exiles the Luidaeg from the Duchy of Ships, starting at the end of the Convocation and lasting for seven years, as a punishment for allowing the Selkies to wage war against each other in what is supposed to be neutral ground. Afterwards, alone in the Luidaeg's quarters, Toby, Tybalt, and Quentin beseech her to find a way around the promise she'd made to the Selkies. After the Luidaeg explains the creation of both the Raven-maids and the Selkies, Toby tells her of her plan. They start with the skin that had been Isla's, carved from the body of the Luidaeg's grandson named Beathan. Using Toby's ability to see the weave of the spell laid upon the skin, and the combined power of Captain Pete and the Luidaeg, they multiply the one skin into five. The Luidaeg presents these to the Selkies, explaining that four of the five skins will be sealed into new Roane, while the fifth will remain bound as a Selkie. This will be done with each and every Selkie's skin (save for Gillian's), and the remaining Selkies will be sealed as Roane too at the end of the Luidaeg's seven-year exile. Using Gillian as a conduit and the Luidaeg's power as a boost, Toby works a bloodmagic spell to change all of the chosen Selkies at once into Roane, their shriveled sealskins falling away. Characters, Fae Types, Places * Kingdom of the Mists * Toby Daye * Gillian * Selkie * Roane Locations * Duchy of Ships * Saltmist * The Undersea Quotes Back Cover Text Book Chapter References Trivia * Dianda Lorden is revealed to have a brother. * The debt that the Luidaeg made with the Selkies will finally end. * Based on October being able to change the balance of the blood, the fact that Gillian is a Selkie as of Night and Silence, the Luidaeg gifting Elizabeth Ryan with the remaining lost skins in exchange for helping Gillian adjust in Suffer a Sea-Change and the fact that Elizabeth has mentioned multiple times that there are Selkies-In-Waiting who may never get a skin, its highly possible that Toby's role is to bind the Selkie skins to the current Selkies, effectively making them the new Roane. See Also * List of October Daye books * Faeries * List of Fae Types * Firstborn * List of Firstborn * List of Faerie Kingdoms, Duchys, Realms * Big Three * Faerie External References Category:October Daye books Category:Novel